Lap Band Removal

While there are several options for bariatric weight loss surgery, on lap band surgery is reversible. In fact, lap band removal is pretty common. It’s also fairly easy to do.

Patients have their lap band removed for a number or reasons. Some feel they are not losing enough weight. Others suffer from pretty rare but uncomfortable side effects like nausea, stomach pain, swallowing problems or acid reflux. Still others have their bands slip out of place or erode, making them less effective.

Lap band removal is a simple procedure. And if your lap band was put in place with laparoscopic surgery, it can usually be removed the same way. That means a quicker operation—the entire surgery should only take an hour or so, and lap band removal takes about 10 minutes—with less bleeding, scarring and pain, and a faster and easier return to normal activity.

For lap band removal, the surgeon will first cut tiny incisions in your belly to insert the laparoscopic tools needed to perform the operation. The surgeon then cuts away the tissue that grows around the lap band naturally in the body. Next, he or she will cut the stitched that hold the lap band to the stomach, and also remove the scar tissue that usually forms around the stitches.

Once all that is done, the surgeon cuts the band apart and unwraps it from around the stomach. The lap band is then removed through one of the small openings in the belly, along with the other surgical tools. Finally, the surgeon closes the openings with a small stitch.

Lap band removal is a low-risk operation, with the same risks as when the band was put in place.

If your initial surgery was covered by insurance, it’s highly likely that lap band removal will also be covered. It may even pay for a new or different bariatric procedure. However, if your insurance will not pay for removal, oBand has great financing options to help you afford the procedure.